Fire-escape



(No Model.) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. FERGUSON.

FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 482,345. Patented Sept. 13.1892.

I/G. d2.

WITNESSES: INVENTOH A TTOHNE Y.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

. A. FERGUSON.

FIRE ESGAPE.

No. 482,345 Patented Sept. 13, 1892.

WITNESSES VENTOI? 057% my d...

05%M ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER FERGUSON, OF LEVVISTON, MAINE.

Fl RE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 482,345, dated September 13, 1892.

Application filed November 23, 1891. Serial No. 412,831. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beitknown that I, ALEXANDER FERGUSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lewiston, in the county of Androscoggin, State of Maine, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fire-escapes and to that class of fire-escapes which are designed to be attached to the outside of a building, and which when not in use is so situated that it does not disfigure or mar thelooks of the buildmg and is not exposed to wind and weather, and yet can be quickly and readily operated and put in position for use from any desired place inside of the building at a moments warning.

My improved fire-escape consists in its essential parts of a pliable metallic ladder designed to hang from a point on top of the buildmg to the ground opposite the windows or doors. This flexible metallic ladder is attached at the top to a reel adapted to wind up the ladder and hold it when not in use. This reel is so made and held in position that with the aid of a starter, so called, and a wire at tached to the same and running through the different rooms of the building it when operated unwinds and permits the ladder to descend to the ground. Attached to the building under each window or'other place of easy exit in case of fire is a hinged bracket, also designed to be. operated by springs and wires, which after the ladder has descended swings down one arm of the bracket on either side of the ladder. This arrangement not only serves to hold the ladder steady and in place, but forms a foothold for persons using the ladder.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a View of a building in elevation with my improved fire-escape attached thereto and ready for use. Fig. 2 represents an enlarged View of a portion of the pliable metallic ladder. Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of the reel and its operating mechanism as situated on the top of a building. Fig. t represents a side elevation of the bracket ready for operation with the building wall in section.

The flexible ladder is shown atAand is made of metal, this substancebein g obviouslypreferable for a ladder which is to be used as a fireescape. The chain part of the ladder is shown eight inches. These steps b b when the ladder is in position for use are fitted or locked into grooves c c, which latter are cut in the under side of the bracket-arms d d hereinafter described. The reel to which the ladder is attached and upon which it is wound when not in use is shown at B. The reel is placed on stands 0 C at either end, into which the reel is journaled at d. d. Over this reel can be built a box or house to protect it from view and the action of weather. This reel is so located with reference to the building that when the wires hereinafter explained are pulled the chain ladder will descend clear of the building and about a foot away therefrom.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings, 6 represents a spring-starter, so called, one end of the spring being fastened to the building at e and the other end being connected with a wire 1;, which latter is looped at its end and is hung 011 a projection f, fastened to the periphery of the reel at its end.

At g is shown another spring, one end of which is attached to the building at a, the other end of which rests on the periphery of the reel at its end at h, and against 00 a projectionf', similar to the one shown at f. Attached to this spring is a wire. (shown at 1,) which passes through the roof of the building and through the different rooms to any desirable place where it could be reached easily in case of fire. WVhen the ladder is wound upon the reel and the springs are in position, as shown in Fig. 3, the fire-escape is then in its normal position and ready for immediate use.

The operator in case of fire pulls a handle (one or more handles are to be attached to the wire wherever desired) attached to the wire 2'. The wire then moves in direction shown by arrow 1, which movement of the wire releases the spring g from contact with the projection f. The moment the spring g is released the downward tendency of the spring e starts the reel in the direction shown by arrow 2 and the reel unwinds, aided by the weight of the chain ladder, until the ladder is entirely unwound.

At 70 is shown a spring which presses against ICO a cam j on the reel near one end and operates as a brake to regulate the speed of the reel and the descent of the ladder. The tension of this spring can be regulated according as the ladder byits own weight descends fast or slow. The bracket is made with two arms (1 d, as above set forth, which extend out at right angles from the building, the arms be- 1ng connected by means of a rodu'. (See Fig. 1.) After the ladder descends the operator then pulls the wire 6, this being provided with handles, also, whenever desired, in direction shown by arrow 3, which lifts the catch Z, and the bracket, the arms being hinged at m m, is thrown out by the action of the spring'n and falls down in place. The rods 19 '10 operate in groove 0', made in the outer side of either arm of the bracket. This construction makes the bracket steady and prevents it from getting out of place. Cut in the under side of the arms of the bracket are notches c 0, hereinable metallic ladder having some of its rounds 1) extended beyond its sides, with a bracket having arms (1 d, which are provided with grooves c c to receive the extended ends of c the said rounds, substantially as set forth.

2. An improved fire-escape consisting of a pliable metallicladder, reel B, sprin g g springstarter e, wires it, cam j, and spring 70 to regulate the descent of the ladder, all substantially as herein described.

3. An improved fire-escape consisting of a pliable metallic ladder with rounds I) 1), reel B, with its operating mechanism, hinged bracket with its arms 01 d, grooves c 0, spring 'n, catch Z, and wire 2'', all constructed and operating substantially as described.

ALEXANDER FERGUSON. Witnesses:

BENNETT B. FULLER, BENJ. T. CHASE. 

